Remember
by SilentDreaming
Summary: Naruto is under bad luck lately; he's sick with the flu, and he's gotten into a disagreement with Sai. And then he hears a rumor about that certain Uchiha wandering close to and outside the village. Now guess what happens. .:Takes place in Shippuden:.
1. Disagreement

**A/N**

This is my first fanfic for This chapter might be a little fast paced but bear with it, okay? I'd like to say that if you want to, listen to _Every Time We Touch_ by Cascada and/or _Angel of Darkness_ by Alex C. while reading.

If you're a site user, review if you'd like. But be kind, and no flaming. I'll take constructive criticism. All characters belong to the creators.

-**_SilentDreaming_**-

* * *

"Ugh..." Naruto moaned. "How do you feel now?" Sakura asked him softly. 

"I've seen better days. My head just aches!" He complained. Then he allowed the light sugar-pink haired girl change the towel on his forehead. At the moment he felt really sick; head aching, body aching, and of course, felt feverish.

"You'll be better soon." Sakura sighed as she went to open the window to let a slight but cool breeze blow in. "I better be!" Naruto spoke, then he coughed wetly. He sunk miserably deeper into the hospital bed.

"Man, I'm hungry." He muttered, his stomach growling to accentuate. "Mind some ramen?" Sakura asked him. This caught his attention really fast, he sat upright.

"Alright!" Naruto said cheerfully, then he layed back down because of his sore head which begun to hurt again. "I'll be right back." Sakura smiled, and left to get him his ramen.

Once she left, Naruto shut his eyes and sighed. "It sucks being sick." He said. "Sure is." A voice spoke up. He peeked at who said that. The person stepped into view, Naruto's blue-hued eyes meeting with those darker shaded. "Sure, Sai..." Naruto repeated sarcastically.

'_Here he is again, acting like the pest he always is_.' He thought.

Sai rolled his eyes. "I did help you get here, _right?_" Sai asked. "Um... Yeah, you did." Naruto replied. He remembered when he collapsed due to feeling very ill, Sai carried him while Sakura alerted someone. But being in the hospital for two days hadn't helped them make up from their misunderstanding. They still felt annoyed at each other. Just by being near one another alone in a room made them feel even more ticked off.

"Never mind." Sai sighed, and he turned away. "Sure hope those medication kicks in..." He thought aloud. "Shut up, Sai!" Naruto shot back. Sai gave him a mean glare through his emotionless looking eyes which made his glare seem more meaner.

"Get out of here." Naruto demanded. Sai waved a hand in dismissal before leaving. He slammed the door so hard that it was strong enough to make Naruto's glass of water rattle.

"Damn..." He grumbled, then looked up into the ceiling blankly.

The walls were painted a pale light blue, and the window covered in another pale curtain that fluttered in the soft breeze. A small vase with flowers rested on the windowsill. Outside was a view of his home village of Konoha, then he saw two birds fly by.

"Seems peaceful." Naruto said to himself. Despite the fresh air blowing in, and some of Sakura's assistance, he still felt bad. And how this had happened?

Well, flashing back, Naruto remembered all what he could remember:

-_A couple of days earlier_-

The warm rays of the morning sun shone through his bedroom window. He just started waking up, only after a few hours sleep. The day had started out normal, or so Naruto had thought...

"Ow, my body's sore." Naruto scratched a red spot on his arm. That day before, he, Sakura, and Konohamaru were sent to get some special herbs when he tripped inside a nettle bush on top of some poison ivy.

The whole night he couldn't sleep because he felt itchy. He did sleep but only for a scant three hours. So, he felt really tired.

"Poison ivy... Nettles... Eck." Naruto muttered, still scratching. He swept his legs over the side of his bed, stood on the floor and stretched. But when he opened his eyes, a sudden dizzy spell washed over.

It came on so strong that he lost his balance and nearly fell onto the floor. Luckily he managed to grab onto his nightstand.

When his dizziness faded away, he heaved himself onto his feet.

"Ugh, I feel like the world is spinning." He muttered, holding his head. Naruto slowly walked over to the bathroom when another spell awashed over... And then he proceeded to get sick.

"Oh, God..." Naruto groaned when he came out. "I think I'll skip breakfast." He added groggily. There was a short, quick yet important exam and a mission he couldn't miss this morning so he chose to still go to both the Academy and on that mission despite feeling quite ill and even if people tell him to come back home.

'_Neh, I think I'll make it._' He thought, and shrugged. A few minutes later, he managed to get dressed into his usual clothes: an orange and black jacket with matching pants.

"Now, off I go--" Naruto spoke, then a sudden fit of coughs came on. The fit was so rough he doubled over onto his knees. He felt something go onto his hand. "Ouch..." He muttered when he stopped coughing. When he pulled his hand away, he saw drops of blood!

"What?!" Naruto gasped. He _did_ threw up a little roughly and it left his throat feel raw, so that must be why. It began to hurt so he knew he can't talk loudly or yell.

He stared at his hand then wiped it on his pants and shrugged again. "That doesn't matter... Off I go!"

* * *

The whole time Naruto walked to the Academy his legs felt weird. They trembled in pain, hurting more with each step. And his vision was slightly blurry. "I feel sick." He said, taking slower steps to relieve the pain a little. 

Probably because he wasn't paying attention to where he's going was when he tripped. Naruto fell flat on his face, and the fall sent an explosion of agony through him. Many people that saw him laughed hysterically.

He cursed and kept laying there, twitching. And then someone ran up to him.

"Naruto!" The person exclaimed. It was a girl's voice. It sounded oddly familiar. "I've fallen and refuse to get up." Naruto muttered under his breath. "You okay?" The girl asked. He cracked open an eye at who said that.

"Hi... Hinata-chan?" He said. The ever-quiet Hyuuga helped him up back on his feet. "A-Are you okay, N-Naruto-san?" Hinata asked him again. "It's my dignity that isn't alright." He replied in a wheezy tone.

"You seem sick." Hinata pointed out. "Aww, come on! Besides having a sore belly, I'm perfectly alright!" Naruto told her, grinning weakly. It was all he could do. "Uh... Oh, okay. P-Please be c-careful though." She said, then they went different directions.

* * *

"I'm... almost... there..." Naruto said. It took him 10 excruciating minutes just to get on over to the Academy. And then he finally got there. He waddled over to a bench and sat down. 

"Whew..." He sighed in relief. His legs begun to relax, hurting less. He removed his headband, and placed a hand on his forehead to find out he felt hot. "I feel like I got a fever." Naruto mumbled.

"There you are, Naruto!" Sakura suddenly popped up beside him. "Oh, hello, Sakura." He said. "Where were you?? I was waiting for, like, a _loooong_ time for you to come!" Sakura complained.

"Sorry 'bout that. I had a problem at home." Naruto apologized to her. She sighed. "What kind of problem?" Sakura asked. "I threw up." He replied bluntly. His friend gaped at him with an open mouth.

"You what?!" She gasped. Naruto nodded. "I don't know why I hurled, but I did. So I had to skip breakfast." He told Sakura.

"Oh really." A voice said. They turned around, and it was Sai. "Hmm... If real men always stick to their promises, do you call yourself one?" Sai asked, voice showing no emotion. This ticked off the blonde-haired boy. "I AM a man!" Naruto snapped.

His retort hadn't seemed to affect Sai at all (well, he knows no emotions), because he just chuckled. "If you do call yourself a man, does a lazy _idiot_ like you have a -_beep_-?" Sai replied sarcastically. This totally stung Naruto, hearing such an insult.

"Grr... You make my stomach churn, you--" Naruto stood from the bench and stomped over to Sai. " Stop it, you two!" Sakura stood between them. But he just pushed her gently away and glared at the other with jet-black locks.

"Whatcha say, Mr. No-Emotion Pale Skin?!" Naruto asked. "You heard me, Thou -_beep_-less Ramen Hogger." Sai shot back, his dark hued eyes narrowing at the infuriated blue-eyed ninja standing before him.

"_Stop it_, Naruto! _Stop it_, Sai!" Sakura demanded. They exchanged quite nasty glares before they 'hmph'-ed and turned away. Sakura sighed. '_Reminds me of that time there two and a half years ago when Naruto argued with Sasuke..._' She thought, shaking her head in disgrace.

Naruto stormed off. "Hey, Naruto! The exam is going to start in five minutes!" Sakura said. "I don't want to stay around with that idiot Sai!" Naruto snapped. And then, suddenly, the dizzy spell came back. It was even more stronger than last time so his legs gave way. He drifted forward and fell face-first with a loud thud.

"Naruto!" Sakura, and, quite surprisingly, Sai gasped.

Sakura rushed to Naruto's side. She helped him up while Sai walked over. "Neh... It's nothing..." Naruto said to Sakura in a scratchy voice. She noticed his face was flushed, for what she didn't notice before. Sai knelt beside them, and much to Naruto's displeasure, placed a gloved hand on one of his cheeks.

"He's burning up." Sai's eyebrows raised. And then Sakura made him hold Naruto while she begun running away. "Where are you going?" Sai asked. "To go tell someone about Naruto!" Sakura yelled over her shoulder.

While she was gone, Naruto glared at Sai. "Let go, bozo." He muttered. "Just doing what I have to, Naruto. So quit with the squirming." Sai hissed. Naruto sighed in disdain. Another five minutes gone by, and Naruto's patience wore thin.

"Leggo." Naruto said. "Just stay still!" Sai barked, sounding unusually angry.

It was then Sakura came back. "We need to take him to the hospital." She told Sai. "But I don't..." Naruto argued, but his dizziness overcame him and he passed out. "Aww, great." Sai said and hauled him up onto his back. They took him over to the hospital.

* * *

"...It appears to be that he has the flu. Also, he seemed to have over-excersised, a lack of food and sleep. Your friend needs to stay with us for a few days until he gets better." The nurse told a nervous Sakura. She sighed in relief. 

"But hey, over-excersizing, no food and sleep?" She asked. "Apparently, he seemed to have done so. You can ask him when he wakes up." The nurse calmly replied before leaving. When she left, Sai walked in. "So?" He said. Sakura sat in a chair beside the bed Naruto is sleeping in.

"Naruto hadn't ate, slept, and excersised too much." Sakura removed Naruto's headband and placed a damp towel on his forehead. And then Sai turned heel and left. Sakura stood to follow.

"Wait!" She said to him in the hallway. He stopped, then glared at her. "What is it?" He snapped. "Why are you still upset with Naruto?" Sakura asked. "None of your business." Sai grunted. He abruptly left to go to the hospital roof. "But..." Sakura was about to stop him when she heard a noise in the room. Shooting Sai a concerned glance, she went back inside the room.

"What...? I'm in the hospital?" Naruto muttered, waking back up. His sight focused back to normal. "Of course you are." Sakura said, sitting back down in the chair.

"How'd I get here?" Naruto asked her. "You passed out, duh." She replied. He stared up into the ceiling with a blank face. "Oh yeah..." Naruto breathed.

"By the way, have you excersised yourself too much, hadn't ate or slept much?" Sakura's eyes fixated onto him. Naruto inched away from her, but she moved her face closer. "Okay, okay! I admit it, I've been training for hours on end for two days straight with no food." He blurted, bracing himself for a smack in the head.

But instead she sat there, confused. And she looked concerned. "What?? Why hadn't you said so?" Sakura said. "I was too tired and busy." Naruto said back. She nodded, looking outside the window. "No wonder you've been late to come to each training session." She mumbled.

Then she heard Naruto make a muffled burping noise. "Get a bucket and step out." Naruto urgently told her, covering his mouth and his face turning green. Sakura grabbed the trash can and went out in the hallway.

-_Meanwhile_-

"Crap... Twice in one day!" Naruto pouted, carefully taking the medicine Sakura handed him. When he gulped it down, she couldn't help but stare.

"Why won't you at least talk it out with Sai?" Sakura asked. "Hmph... With that dumbass, no way." He replied coldly, laying back down and turned to the side, facing away from her.

She sighed and stood up. "You know what? This is almost as bad as you and Sasuke fighting!" Sakura yelled and slammed the door when he left. At the mention of Sasuke's name, it reminded him of the day he fought against his former teammate in an attempt to bring him back. But, ultimately, he failed.

Naruto shook his head to make the thought go away. He turned over onto his back. Again, he stared into the ceiling.

"Sasuke... and... and Sai..."

* * *


	2. Premonition, Part One

**A/N**

Now, here's the second chapter for you guys to read. It may be a little bit fast-paced again so just bear with it. If you'd like, listen to _Sakura's Theme _during Hinata's visit to Naruto and Shino talking to her, and/or_ Hishoku no Sora_ by Mami Kawada.

All Characters belong to the creators. Songs belong to original artists.

-**SilentDreaming**-

* * *

-_Back to current day_-

Naruto stopped with his flashback when someone knocked on the door. "Yeah?" He called out.

"Um... Naruto...?" Hinata said, peeking her head inside.

"Hey, Hinata! What's up?" Naruto joyfully said, then he coughed. '_Damn. Forgot about my sore __throat._' He thought as the shy brunette walked up to him. "I came... to... to v-visit you." Hinata whispered, hoping that he wouldn't see her blush.

"Gee, thanks!" Naruto grinned at her. '_He's... smiling... at me!_' Hinata thought, turning more redder in the cheeks. "How are you t-today, N-Naruto-san?" She asked. "Doing alright. The nurse said I could be let out in another couple of days! Isn't that great, eh--" Naruto begun then someone else came in.

"Come on, Hinata. Kiba's waiting outside." Shino said, peeking from behind the screen. "Okay, Shino-san." Hinata said, then she turned back to Naruto. "I'll see you t-t-tomorrow, Naruto." She said. "Okay!" Naruto grinned again.

Hinata left with Shino, her face really red and she had a big yet wobbly smile.

"Did you give it to him?"

"Um... no."

"What? You didn't?"

"Sorry, Shino-san..."

Naruto stared towards the door with wonder. "Was she supposed to give me something?" He said to himself. And then another knock, and Ino walked in. "Here's a tulip from me, Hinata, and TenTen!" She went over to the vase and placed the delicate, baby blue flower into it gently.

"Hinata wanted to give this to you but I had to do it for her." Ino sighed, tugging strands of her pale yellow hair behind one ear. "I see." Naruto nodded. "Well, bye bye!" She waved and left.

He looked at the tulip Ino brought in. He could tell it just finished growing. The bright sunlight twinkled on the water droplets lightly sprinkled on it's petals. The petals looked soft enough that they'll fall off if touched.

"Was _that_ Hinata and Shino were talking about?" He pondered aloud. "But I could've saw it when she was here a few minutes ago..." He added. Then he shrugged and kept looking at the tulip.

"Wow. But hey, people visiting me? That's odd." Naruto said. He usually never had more than one person come to visit him. In the past two days, Hinata visited twice: once yesterday then today, once from Rock Lee, once from Kakashi who bought him ramen, and once from Ino which was just now.

"Ah, well." Naruto sighed, and stretched. "I'll take a long nap, I'm so tired...' He yawned. Naruto layed back down and started sleeping away comfortably.

* * *

-_A while later_-

Shino and Hinata stopped in front of a tree, not far from the ninja hospital. "Okay, why didn't you give _that_ to Naruto?" The goggle-wearing Aburame asked the Hyuuga. "Um... I was... I was... t-t-too n-nervous..." Hinata said, ashamed.

She pulled out a small, red box from her jacket pocket.

"Oh, come on... I know you want to give _that_ to him, but if you want to, you have to do it by youself." Shino sighed. "Sorry..." The shy girl apologized. "I-I will try to give this to N-Naruto af-after h-h-he leaves from the hospital..." She added.

Hinata gently slid off the ribbon that was tied around the box, and she opened it. She picked up the thing inside the box. She dangled it while holding it's chain, the sun glistening off of it's shiny surface.

"Fine." Her teammate said, looking at the thing Hinata held. She nervously put the thing back in it's box, and tied the ribbon back on. "You think you'll do it?" A voice spoke up. Startled, Hinata and Shino turned around.

"N-N-Neji-san!" Hinata gasped. Her older cousin walked up to them. "You better get the courage to do it, or you'll never give it to him. Okay?" Neji said reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Um... Alright." She replied. And then she got this hopeful look in her eyes.

"Do you pr-promise n-not to tell Naruto I'm going to g-g-give this to him?" Hinata asked Neji. He nodded, smiling lightly. "Sure I won't." He said and kept walking by them. They stared after him.

"I say again, are you going to give _that_ to Naruto?" Shino repeated. Hinata stared down at the small red box for a while. Then she felt this short rush of confidence.

"I will." Hinata said, sliding the box back in her pocket.

* * *

-_Meanwhile_-

"Hey, Sai." Sakura said to him. And then she noticed Sai was tightening his gloves. Also, he didn't seem to notice Sakura standing there. "Where are you going?" She loudly said to get his attention. Sai looked over his shoulder.

"For a walk." He replied, now fixing up the sleeves of his jacket. He stood and straightened his pants and tightened his belt. "Could you give this to Naruto before you go?" Sakura asked, holding the tray with a bowl of ramen on it in front of her.

"Not right now." Sai said in a sarcastic voice, then he left quickly again without saying another word. Sakura stood there, shocked. Suddenly she felt the tray slip from her hands. The bowl fell on the ground with a loud crash.

"Oh no!" Sakura gasped, kneeling down to clean up the big mess. '_Man, I hope they'll make up __or at least compromise..._' She thought, and sighed heavily as she picked up all of the broken pieces of the bowel of ramen that had the Ichiraku kanji on it.

She didn't like seeing Naruto and Sasuke argue about three years ago, so she also disliked him and Sai arguing now. Her attempts for them to make up bombed every time but she isn't going to give up.

"I'll have to give it by myself, then." She said, putting the pieces on the tray and went back to Naruto's favorite ramen shop to get another bowl. "I'll have to be quick because I was gone a while!" Sakura told herself.

* * *

By the time Sakura finished cleaning up, Sai was already near the village gate. He felt somewhat tense on the way there.

"Well, what do we have here?" Sai said, suddenly stopping. He saw two people watching over the gate which was very tall and very wide. He knew he needed permission from Tsunade to leave to just go on a walk but he wasn't in the mood.

And then he got an idea. Stealthily and silently, Sai appeared behind the two men. They didn't even notice him behind them.

"So, what do you think about us watching over this--" The first man asked the other, and suddenly Sai karate-chopped them both really hard on the back of their necks. Sai grabbed their heads and he banged them together right on their foreheads more harder. Both men were knocked out cold.

"That was easy." Sai flicked a stray hair from his face. He made sure nobody had saw him do what he just did. Nobody was around this area so it was safe and clear. He walked out from the small hut, looked around one more time, then left Konoha to go on his private and personal walk.

-_An estimated ten minutes later_-

Sai kept walking when he found a rock under a tree to sit on. When he saw down, he saw a beautiful-looking scenery in front of him:

A rushing river which he didn't notice before, rocks lining the riverbed, and lilies dotting the grass.

"Hmm..." He thought aloud, putting a hand to his cheek. And then he quickly got out a drawing scroll. He got out a brush, dipped the tip in a small cup of ink, then started ink painting.

With thin but strong strokes, Sai accurately redrew the scene. When he was done a while later, he compared his painting to the river. "Quite good, I'd say to myself." He said. He waited for the ink to dry, then he put it away. But due to his lack of emotions, he didn't name it. Having to be a Roots member, he grew up knowing no emotion: happiness, love, everything.

"I think I'll wash up then leave." Sai sighed. He went up to the riverbed, knelt down, and slid off his gloves to wash the excess ink on his fingers. And then he felt like he wasn't alone in this forest clearing and that someone was watching him.

"I know you're there." He called out without turning around. After a few long moments of silence, someone stepped out from the bushes. Sai stood up, and went back in the direction back to the village.

When he walked past the person, he glanced over. He suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Aren't you..." Sai begun.

"...Sasuke Uchiha?"

After he had said that, he continued on his walk back to Konoha. Sasuke chuckled a little bit. Then he craned his neck to look into the sky. Dark clouds were beginning to roll in and it started to get windy. The wind slightly ruffled his spiked, raven black hair.

"Good guess... newbie." The treacherous Uchiha said. And he walked away, opposite from Sai. He chuckled again, this time in a very evil tone of voice.

"Heh heh... Sakura, that guy, and Naruto... They don't know what's coming."

_To Be Continued_

* * *


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